I needed help booking a cruise, but I wanted to ensure that I would get the discounted cruise rate I was supposed to get as a Costco Travel member. I've never gone on a cruise before, but I've heard a lot about them and figure that with a little bit of a discount this might be something worth checking out. Of course, I had a lot of questions which is why I also thought I should call Costco to talk to someone about the cruise before booking it. This way I made sure that I knew what I was getting into. 

Of course, I figured that it might be a long wait to talk to someone because Costco probably has millions of travel members. While not everyone needs a cruise, there are probably many people who call the travel number to get help with cruises and travel both domestic and international. Therefore, I waited until the start of my lunch break and then kicked back expecting to be left on hold for awhile. To my surprise, it only took me a few minutes to get to someone which makes me even more impressed by what Costco can offer. 

When I called, I was greeted by an automatic voice that said, "Thank you for calling Costco Travel." It then gave me a list of options that included, "For rental cars, press 1. For cruises, press 2. For travel with a guided group, press 3. For travel within the United States, press 4. For travel within Canada, press 5. For all other international travel, press 6. For travel insurance, or if you are in need of in-travel or post-travel assistance, press 7." For a second I paused since the cruise might take me outside of the US technically, but then I figured that since there was a cruise option it was best to go straight to it. 

The voice assistant then told me, "To make a new booking, press 1. For existing bookings, press 2." I pressed 1 and once again had two more options which were, "For Azmara, Regent 7 Seas, or River Cruises, press 1. For all other cruise lines, press 2." I was looking at an Azmara cruise, so I pressed 1 and then very upbeat music started playing. It only played for maybe ten seconds and then a customer service agent picked up the phone. The short wait time was amazing, and I was on the phone with a representative in less than three minutes altogether. They did have a bit of an accent, but when I asked them to speak clearly they obliged and we were able to cover all my questions before booking the cruise.